***
'Black. That's great… My strength is lacking, though,' Lami mused as he walked back to Lucian's side.
Some of the students frowned as they stared at him, clearly shocked by the unexpected outcome.
"Black…"
Lami had a blank look on his striking face, planning his next steps.
"...!"
"Crazy…"
The purple rating had already stunned them, but seeing black on the same day was beyond belief—It was hard to fathom.
"Tch!" Elliot clicked his tongue as Lami walked past him.
'He will get desperate now.'
Lami could endure the insults, but if Elliot struck first, he wouldn't hold back. He just didn't want to initiate the attack.
"Thank you for your participation. Before starting the next step, I will clear some important misconceptions," Reiko said, her voice piercing throughout the training grounds, garnering everyone's attention.
"You might ask yourself why you are getting a Weapon Arts class despite being a mage. The reason is simple, it is to ensure your safety, and for you to ensure others' safety. Let's say your Spells are sealed, or elements, or specialization. What are you going to do? Sit there and watch a slaughter unfold!?"
Reiko's expression darkened as her voice rose to match her intensity.
"...No, you won't. You need to fight, defend, and kill. This is not some redundant lecture, as some of you seem to think. I'll teach you how to save yourselves and others."
Reiko walked closer as she added, "… Now that I've learned about your weapons and mastery, I will hand you scriptures—written by none other than me."
Reiko approached each student, handing them a scripture for their primary weapons, written on thin sheets of paper.
When Reiko reached Lami, she handed him a paper and gave him a once-over with piercing eyes. It felt like thousands of invisible needles were piercing his skin. It was an unsettling feeling; however, he couldn't take his eyes off her either.
Her dark eyes compelled him, drawing him into an abyss as every hair on his body stood on end. It started to feel scorching hot and deadly cold simultaneously, cold sweat beading along his back, barely able to breathe.
As Reiko moved on, Lami thought he caught a subtle nod in his direction.
After handing a scripture to each student, Reiko called it off for today. She instructed the students to study their scriptures for next week's class. Without a glance, Lami sent the scripture into his ring.
The students kept quiet, preparing to leave.
Well, most did…
"...Do you think any of us could survive that psych—her training?" Lucian muttered, shielding his mouth with his hand.
"..."
"Lucian Valor.... Do you want to find out?" Reiko asked with a chilling smile.
"She heard me?" Lucian whispered, his eyes widening in disbelief.
Lami bit his lips to not burst out laughing.
"Yes, I can hear you." Reiko's cold smile widened.
There was quite some space between Lucian and Reiko; normally, it should've been impossible to hear a normal conversation, let alone a whispering.
However, she was Reiko—the normal didn't apply to her.
Reiko turned her attention to the crowd. "Alright, that was all for today. I'll see you next week."
"I need to prepare some stuff so I'll see you in 4 hours by her room, see you," Lucian said in a hurried tone and instantly disappeared from Lami's sight.
Sigh-
"Off to training then."
Lami was ready to hit the next rank, and he also wanted to improve his explosiveness further.
…
"One, two, three."
Lami repeatedly slashed at imaginary targets, sweat beading from his forehead.
"One, two, three."
Ragged breaths tore from Lami's chest as he pushed himself harder. He had already achieved what was necessary, but a little extra training wouldn't hurt.
"One, two—" Suddenly, he paused mid-swing, noticing the abrupt shift in the air around him.
'...?'
Confused by their reactions, Lami looked backwards, taking off his earphones.
"How dare you ignore me!?"
'Oh?'
Lami blinked, mildly surprised to see Elliot's furious, ever-punchable face so soon. Elliot stood before Lami, his brow furrowed and veins bulging in anger.
"...And why exactly should I care?" Lami replied, feigning disinterest.
"When someone speaks to you, you don't ignore them—especially someone like me. Judging by your lack of manners, I assume you don't know who I am. Typical for someone so... uneducated."
Lami internally rolled his eyes at Elliot's remarks. He was ranked first for fuck's sake…
"I know you though. You're a leech," Lami said in a bored tone, and before putting his earphones back on and added, "'…As you can see, I'm kind of busy. So kindly piss off—respectfully."
To Lami, Elliot was nothing more than an annoyance. He wanted to provoke him into striking first. Showing Elliot not to mess with him was his initial plan.
And also he wanted to beat him—a little bit.
'Heh, seethrough.'
Lami noticed Elliot's trembling hands and him biting his lips with lines of blood seeping through his mouth.
"You little halfling… I'll show you the difference between us," Elliot hissed.
Lami sighed, pausing the music before storing his phone and earphones into the ring.
"I have no clue what you are trying to prove here, but let's go for it. Just don't cry to your father afterward," he taunted.
Elliot shook his head in rejection and said with a wry smile, "At least I have a family. Who do you have, you half-breed?"
Lami smirked, unsurprised. He had never expected anything better from Elliot.
"..Go on, press the button. It's an all-out battle," Lami said, his smile sharp and unflinching.